LSI 2010 NRD Santa Fe final conference binder 072110.pdf

William H. Desvousges of W. H. Desvousges & Associates Speaker 27: 4
Proper REA or HEA Assessment
Figure 1
Plaintiff’s REA Assessment
Groundwater provides a number of potential services directly to the public and
indirectly through the environment (Figure 2). At the site of this case study,
groundwater is contained within the aquifer and does not reach the surface to affect
surface water and surface water habitats. Therefore, the groundwater only provides
services within the aquifer. Habitat services relate to the maintenance of the integrity of
the aquifer, such as preventing land subsidence, and in some cases salt water
intrusion. The direct human-use service potentially provided by groundwater within an
aquifer is extractive use of the water for drinking, irrigation, or industrial processes. In
most cases, an isolated plume of groundwater will not affect the aquifer as a whole;
thus it will not impact the availability of water to the community. In particular, the
requirement of primary restoration of the injured groundwater assures that there will not
be any future effects on groundwater availability.
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Law Seminars International | Natural Resource Damages | 07/16/10 in Santa Fe, NM